Harry Potter: A New Beginning
by hannarama
Summary: James Sirius Potter is embarking on an adventure to Hogwarts for the first time. His father, mischevious as ever, lets him in on a family secret that he is yet to figure out... In the meantime, James has plenty of time to get up to mischief of his own...
1. Chapter 1: Mischief Managed

Chapter 1: Mischief Managed

"Now I want you to write every week, and don't forget to brush your teeth twice a day… oh, and I put in an extra comb for your hair, gosh, it is SUCH a mess!" Ginny Potter stood with her son on platform nine and three quarters and remembered back to her first trip to Hogwarts, she had been so excited. Now she only felt fear for her eleven-year-old son. She shivered and gave a sigh. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Give the boy a break darling," Harry Potter said to his wife. He tousled his son's hair, "go and say goodbye to your brother and sister."

James Potter nodded and ran off towards where Albus and Lily were playing. He was glad to be given a chance to escape from his worrying mother.

Ginny turned back to Harry. "I'm going to miss him so much, I mean, what if he gets hurt? I don't want him even LOOKING at a broom in his first year… Quiddich is such a dangerous sport… JAMES SIRIUS POTTER PUT YOUR SISTER THE RIGHT WAY UP THIS INSTANT, OR…"

Harry cut her off, "Ginny dear, look, I know this is hard for you, but your just going to have to let him go to discover the world for himself- you cant do it for him. We'll see him again in a few weeks."

The train gave a long, low whistle and James rushed back to his father's side, a look of excitement danced across his expression

"Can I have a quick word James?" Harry whispered.

James looked at his father, and seeing the seriousness in his eyes, followed him to the other side of the platform to a bench. Harry sat on the bench and motioned for his son to do the same. "Now I want you to listen up James; Hogwarts is a strange and wonderful place where many things can happen. Not all of these things are good. I want you to promise me that you won't go looking for trouble."

James frowned, "I don't do looking for trouble- it finds me."

Harry sighed, "Promise me."

"Okay, I promise"

Harry's expression relaxed a little, and an amused smile danced across his lips. "You know, just before my first trip to Hogwarts, a friend did this for me as well," Harry reached underneath the bench and pulled out a strangely shaped object covered in a blanket. Harry lifted up the blanket to reveal an intricately shaped cage; inside the cage there was a creature. The thing was black and had two scaly talons which clutched a wooden perch, it wasn't until it turned its head to look at him that James suddenly realised what it was; an owl.

It looked directly at him, and James could feel the power held in the gaze of those huge, brown eyes.

"Aphries," said James, "his name is Aphries."

Harry nodded and then spoke again, "there is one more thing, James." He reached down into his pocket and drew out a piece of old, white parchment.

"What's this?" James asked, opening it out, "there's nothing on it."

Harry winked at his son, "you'll soon figure it out, because I solemnly swear that you're up to no good."

James looked up, puzzled at his father's odd behaviour, "what?"

Harry looked serious again, "Let's just keep this between you an me, your mother wont want you to have this.

James was still puzzled, but he slipped the parchment into his pocket anyway, glancing at his mother to see if she had noticed. He jumped to his feet as the whistle blew a second time- a final call.

James ran over to his mother and threw his arms around her, she pulled him off and cradled his face in her hands, placing hard kiss on his cheek.

"Muuum!" James complained, wiping his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt. Albus and Lily watched from beside their mother, James knew that they would do anything to swap places with him. He was glad that nothing would change the fact that he was leaving for Hogwarts today.

He carefully carried the owl cage up the stairs into the carriage in front of him and placed it aside, then James turned and his father lifted the trunk in behind him, leaning in close enough to whisper into his son's ear: "Mischief Managed"

The train chugged out of Paddington station, unseen and unheard by all of the normal muggles going about their days the way that they always do. All of them unaware of the strange and magical world that James Potter had launched himself into.


	2. Chapter 2: Bill and Ben

Chapter 2: Bill and Ben, the Floo Powder Men

James watched his parents and siblings fade until he could see them no longer. He leant against the wall of the carriage, feeling the rhythmic bounce and sway of the train.

James had never been one of the tallest boys in school, or the most popular. Everyone thought that James Potter was nothing special- just an average boy of eleven years old, but this was far from the truth… James came from a family of witches and wizards, in fact his best friend, Rose Weasley who went to the nearby St Mary's School for Girls, was just like him.

James started moving along the carriage, carrying Aphries and dragging his heavy trunk behind him. He came to the entrance to a compartment and looked inside. Two of the seats were taken by a small, thin, blue-eyed boy with blonde hair and a fair complexion and a slightly taller, green-eyed boy with brown hair and olive skin.

As James slid open the door, they both looked up with the same smile lighting up their faces. James apologised, "I hope you don't mind me sharing with you?"

"Not a problem," said the boy with brown eyes, "make yourself comfortable, we were just waiting for the food trolley- I'm dying for a pumpkin pasty!"

"You're ALWAYS hungry," complained the blue-eyed boy, "oh, sorry, I'm Benjamin by the way; Ben Longbottom. This is my twin brother, William…"

"Bill, you can call me Bill," William cut in, "everyone does, you know; 'Bill and Ben…'"

James laughed, "The Floo Powder Men?"

Bill groaned, "I think mother must have been in the land of the skrewets when she named us…"

"Anyway, what's your name?" asked Ben

"James Potter" James replied.

"Do you mean James Potter as in Harry Potter's son?!"

Inwardly James grimaced. Everywhere he went he had had people gasp at the sound of his name, and been told time and time again about the amazing feats of his father, Harry Potter: the boy who lived. It seemed that everywhere he would go; he would be living in his father's shadow, the achievements and expectations preceding him, especially to Hogwarts. "Yeah, that's me…" James replied glumly, and he slumped into his chair. Aphries screeched when he found himself plonked down roughly on the seat beside James and ruffled his feathers crossly. "Oops, sorry Aphries" James said, bad mood forgotten.

At that moment, the door slid open again and a kindly wrinkled old face peered in behind spectacles.

"Anything from the trolley dears?" The old woman asked as she looked at them, the glass was so thick on her spectacles; it made her eyes look like saucers, the three boys stifled laughter through coughs and chokes.

It had been a while since breakfast, and James was feeling particularly hungry but he remembered that he had forgotten to ask for some money for the trip! All that he found in his pocket was the strange piece of old parchment that his father had given him just before he left, their parting words echoing in his ears.

He waited glumly while Bill and Ben ordered assortments of Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasty's, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Whizz Fizzes and Lemon Sherbets by the dozen.

"Hey James, why aren't you getting anything?" Asked Bill

"I can't," James replied, "I've got no money- I forgot to ask my parents for some"

"No worries James, we've got too much to have for ourselves"

Twenty minutes, numerous empty wrappers, crumbs and three full stomachs later; Bill, Ben and James heard the brakes on the tracks and realised that they were approaching the station- "QUICK!" went up the shout, "get your robes!"

After a race against the clock, James and Ben emerged from the train, Ben's shirt inside out and James's unruly hair, as usual, was sticking out from all angles. Bill stumbled down the stairs and hopped around the platform trying to pull his shoe on with the laces still tied.

They looked around, everyone had gone!

"Which way do we go?" said Ben

"I have no idea" replied James, to which all three broke down into fits of laughter.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, deep and accented, "Now be careful, we don' want nobody fallin' into the lake now do we?"

The boys all ran in the direction of the voice, down many steps leading to a massive lake where girls and boys were stepping carefully into many small wooden boats. The biggest man James had ever seen was standing next to the water's edge helping people who were having trouble. He was at least seven feet tall, with a beard the size of a small bush, greying slightly around the edges, and hands the size of dinner plates.

The boys quickly joined the end of the line and ended up in a boat together with a small, mouse-haired girl with freckles and a face which was as white as a sheet. It seemed she wasn't too fond of boats. James gave her an encouraging smile.

The boats all took off together; a small fleet with the giant man at the front, taking up the whole boat by himself.

James became mesmerised by the wake of the water, that he trailed his hand dreamily; that is until Ben reminded him of the giant squid which lurked in the depths!

As they rounded the corner of the lake, the castle of Hogwarts appeared in all its splendour- the great towers peaked amongst the clouds, and the stone walls shimmered a deep gold.

They landed at the stone steps leading up to the castle doors, and everyone exited the boats carefully, avoiding the mud and stepping on the emerging stones; all except for one boy who ended up sinking up to his knees- stifled laughter came once again from Bill, Ben and James, they couldn't hold it in any longer when the enormous man had to wade in and pull the boy out. In receiving a harsh look from him, they subsided into muffled giggles once again. The boy, blushing a deep red, busied himself with getting the mud off his new uniform.

"Right-o, firs' years, follow me." The man led them off up the stone staircase, and when they reached the top, huffing and puffing, they spotted a terse-looking woman with angular features and her dark hair twisted into a tight knot at the back of her head.

"Good evening new students," the woman began when everyone had reached the top of the stairs, "my name is Professor McGonagall, I am transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The grand feast is about to begin, but before that can happen you must all be sorted into your new houses. Those houses will be Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor or Slytherin."

Murmurs went up through the group of first-years, and James turned to the twins, "I hope I'm in Gryffindor- like my dad…"

"Our dad was in Gryffindor too!" exclaimed Bill, "but our mother was in Hufflepuff, but I think that I would prefer to be in Gryffindor"

Professor McGonagall continued, "They are ready for you now."

The doors opened and Professor McGonagall led them between four long tables, to where a dirty hat sat on a stool in front of the High Table.

Mouths dropped open when the slight rip in the rip opened up to sing. James couldn't focus on what it was singing about- he had never, EVER seen a talking hat before!

When the hat had finished its song, Professor McGonagall unrolled a long list and read out a name:

"Gregory, Alistair"

The small boy who had fallen into the mud earlier that evening cautiously stepped forward, and then gathering his confidence, strode towards Professor McGonagall- not seeing the slightly raised step ahead of him.

The entire hall erupted in laughter as the poor boy was sent flying into the air, landing hard at the feet of the Professor. As the laughter subsided, she looked at him, her brow raised.

"Mr Gregory, if you would like to perform tricks, maybe I should suggest the circus? Now if you please, shall we get on with the ceremony?"

Alistair blushed a furious red, pulled himself upright and sat heavily on the stool, pulling the hat down firmly onto his head.

Once again, the hat came alive and proceeded to think in a very loud voice. "Hmmm… What a marvellous mind we have here; creative… academic… sports aren't your strong point now are they?"

More muffled giggles.

"I think I shall put you in… RAVENCLAW"

A huge cheer went up from the Ravenclaw table, and Alistair jumped to his feet and hurried down the stairs towards the table; this time mindful of the step.

"Hoggart, Georgina"

More and more names were called, and James felt increasingly nervous. Both twins had been put into Gryffindor, then suddenly:

"Potter, James"

James froze, the room had gone quiet all of a sudden, and the palms of his hands started to sweat. Slowly he walked forward and stepped up onto the platform, sat on the stool and watched as Professor McGonagall lowered the hat slowly onto his head…

"GRYFFINDOR!!" Came the shout from the hat a second after it touched his head; relief washed through James as he stood, placing the hat back on the stool, and ran to where Bill and Ben sat, beaming at him.

"Well done James," they congratulated him, "now come sit with us, the feast is about to begin!"


	3. Chapter 3: Works like a Charm

Chapter 3: Works like a Charm

The next morning, James woke early. He threw back the covers and swung his legs out of bed. He grabbed a pencil out of his trunk and scribbled a short note on a piece of paper, and then he opened the door of Aphries' cage. The black owl hopped out and onto James's arm, waiting patiently as the letter was tied onto his leg.

James walked carefully to the window and opened it slowly; Aphries stretched his wings for a moment, and then took off into the light of the morning sun.

James then walked over to Bill and Ben, "you'd better wake up," he said, "you're going to miss breakfast."

After a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast and blueberry bagels the three boys set out for their first class: Charms.

The classroom looked just like any other classroom James had walked into before- in a way he was disappointed, he had expected objects floating or whizzing round the room at incredible speeds! Instead, he found what looked like a normal classroom with desks, chairs, and a rather short teacher sitting at a table at the far side of the room. When James got up close, though, he realised that the teacher was much smaller than he originally thought; he was about three feet tall and sitting atop a teetering pile of books so that he could actually see over the edge of the table!

"Good morning, good morning!" said the teacher cheerfully, "please, take your seats and we'll get right into it"

"Into what?" James wondered aloud, Bill shrugged, and Ben was too busy yawning to notice.

"Hello everybody," the teacher started, "My name is Professor Flitwick, and I am going to be your charms teacher for the remainder of the year..." He was interrupted by a loud banging noise outside the classroom, and then the door was opened by a very flustered Alistair Gregory. He stumbled into the room and mumbled something about getting lost and dropping his books. Bill and Ben looked at each other and collapsed into fits of giggles; it seemed that Alistair would become the butt of many jokes before his time at Hogwarts was up.

Flitwick wasn't too fussed about the intrusion and motioned for Alistair to take a seat in the back row then continued. "Now if everyone would please like to get out their wands, we are going to learn about the levitation charm. Repeat after me: _Wingardium Leviosar_"

They chorused after him.

"Now we shall learn about the wand movement- it is a SWISH and FLICK," he showed them with an accentuated, u-shaped gesture. "I want everyone to do this together so that I know that you are doing it right, because a few years ago a boy in my class actually lit his feather..."

BANG!

He was cut off by a huge explosive noise which came from right next to where James was sitting; he jumped into the air in surprise and everyone turned to see that feather in front of Bill Longbottom had disappeared, and what was left was a pile of smoking, black ashes.

"...On fire..." Professor Flitwick finished, "oh dear, it's alright we can get you a new one." The burnt remains of the feather disappeared with a tap of Professor Flitwick's wand on the table- the only thing left smouldering was the look of embarrassment on Bill Longbottom's face.

"I've really got to figure out which spell is like _Wingardium Leviosar _that makes these feathers blow up…" Muttered Professor Flitwick as he walked away from Bill's desk, "Wingardium Levirossa… Wingardium Lefriossa… Wingardium Levrossia,"

BANG!

The whole class jumped in their seats as the explosion rocked the room again and saw poor Professor Flitwick desperately fanning his beard, trying to put out the flames- the sight of the small man running around trying to put out the last glowing embers in his, now non-existent, beard was just too much for James to handle; as he laughed, the whole class joined in and soon most people were rolling on the floor, clutching their stomachs.

Flitwick finally managed to stop his beard from baking and looked around the room, his cheeks turning a bright red shade of pink, "CLASS DISMISSED!" He shouted above the racket and stormed out of the room.

"I-I-I think i-i-if ever-r-ry class is l-like this," James managed to articulate, through his on-going giggles, "I-I'm sure I-I-I'll be enjoy-ying H-H-Hogwarts much m-m-more than I thought I-I-I would!"


	4. Chapter 4: Rooms ReDiscovered

Chapter 4: Rooms Re-Discovered

James, Bill and Ben managed to stagger out of the Charms classroom on the second floor and make their way to the staircases. They climbed up to the sixth floor, where they once again collapsed into fits of giggles, "did you see the look on his face?!" Ben recalled, "He looked a bit like Bill at Christmas when he ate that Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean that tasted like CHILI!"

The three boys fell about doing impersonations of Bill and Professor Flitwick, and because of their lack of attention, they didn't exactly realize that the stairs were starting to move.

The three boys finished climbing the stairs as their giggles had finally subsided, and opened the door ahead of them.

"Ummm, guys," said Bill looking around, "I don't think this is the east wing on seventh floor corridor"

It was true, as the boys looked around, they couldn't find anything that looked even remotely similar to where the Gryffindor tower was situated. The corridor had a stone floor and the walls were bare, save for one large tapestry hanging a few yards away.

There was a dead end at the end of the corridor.

"I don't think we should be here…" said Bill nervously, "I'm sure I heard something about not going to the west wing…"

At that moment, a cat appeared around the door. It was a browny-grey, evil-looking cat with the greenest eyes which seemed to pierce through James. He shivered; the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. That wasn't a good sign. Ever since he was a child, James had an extremely good intuition of when bad things were going to happen.

"Hey, I know that cat!" Ben started suddenly, "that's Miss Norris, Filch's cat, that is!"

Bill looked around nervously, "who's Filch?"

"He's the caretaker, I heard he's totally evil and likes to hand out detentions better than the trolley lady likes to hand out those pumpkin pasties!"

James started walking quickly down the corridor, the twins followed, "I bet he's not one for forgiving first years who are in the wrong place on their first day either- I've heard stories about him too; he sent my dad into the forbidden forest on a detention and he came across Lord Voldemort… we have to find somewhere to hide."

James paced up and down in front of the large tapestry, "we have to hide," he repeated to himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack, and James spun around. In the stone of the wall opposite the tapestry, a tiny split was visible, and before his eyes, it began to grow, spreading out along the wall.

"Holy heck!" Cried Ben, "We've broken Hogwarts!"

"Don't be stupid, Ben" yelled James above the noise, "it's forming a door!"

True enough; the cracks in the wall had created a huge door frame.

"Quick!" Whispered James to the others, "footsteps, I think it's Filch!"

The boys needed no further encouragement- they yanked open the doors, stepped inside and closed the doors with a bang behind them.

A hunched old man with grey hair, and a wrinkled, distorted face appeared at the doorway to the West Wing on the seventh floor, "what is it my pretty?" Argus Filch asked, looking towards the cat which sat looking at the wall opposite the tapestry. "Who's here?"

The cat yowled and stalked towards Filch, green eyes flashing.

"No students out of place? Pity…" He picked up his cat and slowly moseyed out towards the stairs. Taking one last look, he thought he spotted a tiny crack in the stone wall, but when he looked again, it was gone. "Pull yourself together, Argus," he whispered to himself, "that room was destroyed a long time ago… don't need to worry about it now…" With that, he left, closing the door sharply behind him.

James Potter crouched in the darkness. He could hear the soft breathing of Bill Longbottom on his right, and he pressed his ear against the cold, stone wall and heard the faint slam of a door. Argus Filch was gone, he was sure.

Turning his head, James tried hard to see in the darkness, but all he could make out was black. He took out his wand and whispered, "_Lumos_". A dull light suddenly lit up the space in which he sat. It was a large room, the floor and walls were flagstone like the rest of the castle, although it wasn't a room which looked like it had a particular use… There was a large, reddish-gold coloured carpet in the middle of the floor and comfy-looking sofas situated along the walls. At the end of the room there was a mirror about six feet tall set in a gold frame.

Suddenly, the room was glowing in golden light and James turned around.

"I found a light switch…" Said Ben, pointing to the small black button on the wall. James would have sworn he had not seen the switch when he looked before, although it had been a little dark…

The boys made themselves right at home, sinking into the huge, comfortable armchairs and relaxing for a while- classes didn't start again for another hour.

"I think we should get back down to the Gryffindor tower," said Bill, "We've got no idea what the time is, and I guess we missed lunch…"

James and Ben laughed as Bill's never-filled stomach groaned and grumbled, Bill just looked wistful.

Bill got up and started walking towards the door when he spied a cabernet out of the corner of his eye. He headed towards the carved double doors which looked just like the front door had; he could have sworn it hadn't been there before…

"Wow, guys," Bill said opening the doors, "It's an entire pantry in here!"

James and Ben jumped to their feet and ran towards where Bill was standing, eyes wide and mouth open to the scene in front of him…

Sure enough, when James looked inside, he found the sight in front of him overwhelming; there were shelves of peanut butter, chicken and salad, jam, and cheese and tomato sandwiches all cut into neat squares; there were three bowls of hot steaming pumpkin soup; there were three jars filled to the brim with all kinds of hard boiled sweets; and there were three trays neatly stacked containing…

"Pumpkin Pasties!" Shouted Bill, grabbing for the nearest tray.

Half and hour later, three boys slipped out of the doorway to the West Wing. "_Petrificus Totalis_" said James as they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. The excitable James Potter jumped into the darkness with Benjamin and William Longbottom following closely behind, a dark grey tabby cat, different to Miss Norris, watching them all the while.

The cat silently padded away, and once it turned a corner, it suddenly transformed into the shape of a woman with severe features, her dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun.

Minerva McGonagall smiled quietly to herself, as she knew; once again, she had another trouble-making Potter on her hands.


	5. Chapter 5: Hufflepuff vs Slytherin

Chapter 5: Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin

Bill, Ben and James were sitting at the Gryffindor table having breakfast when the post came. A unified screeching filled the Great Hall and owl after owl swept in; each clutching an individual package, letter or newspaper.

The boys looked up in amazement, and James spotted Aphries quickly amongst the flurry of wings and feathers. He circled once, then swooped and dropped a large package in James's lap, then soared away towards the Owlery. James looked down at the package; it was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string. The wrapping came off easy enough and the contents spilled out onto the table, a letter plopping into Bill's tea.

"Jeeezzzz…" muttered James, drying off the soggy envelope with a napkin; his parents were so old-fashioned that they still used quills to write letters and the ink will have probably run. He opened it quickly:

_De__a__r __**Ja**__mes, _

_I __**h**__ope __**yo**__u have s__**ettl**__ed we__**ll **__into H__**og**__warts and are e__**njoyi**__n__**g**__ your time away f__**ro**__m the co__**ns**__tr__**ain**__ts of h__**ome **__life. _

James recognised his father's neat scrawl immediately.

_Y__**our**__ bro__**t**__her and __**sister**__ are __**do**__ing we__**ll**__ wi__**th**__o__**ut**__ yo__**u**__, alth__**ough i**__t took a couple of d__**ay**__s __**f**__or t__**h**__em __**to come**__ aro__**un**__d __**after you**__ left- t__**he**__y wi__**s**__h t__**h**__ey __**were in**__ yo__**u**__r s__**ho**__es, __**t**__his __**is why I**__ stra__**i**__n t__**h**__e imp__**ort**__a__**nc**__e __**i**__n t__**h**__e f__**act**__ that y__**ou enjoy every**__ min__**ut**__e y__**o**__u a__**re**__**at**__ t__**h**__at __**sch**__ool, s__**pe**__ak__**ing**__ fro__**m**__ exp__**er**__ience, __**it**__**went all**__**too q**__uickly; d__**o**__n't w__**ast**__e any of it._

_**Y**__our __**m**__oth__**er **__is __**w**__orri__**ed**__ about __**you, but**__ I ha__**v**__e high __**expectations that**__ you __**will d**__o well. _

_C__**ongr**__atul__**atio**__ns on __**getting into**__ Gr__**yff**__in__**d**__or, by t__**he w**__ay__**. I**__ have a__**lrea**__dy __**b**__een __**in contact**__ with Pr__**of**__es__**sor **__Mc__**Gon**__agall__**, **__as s__**he **__is __**the acting**__ He__**a**__d __**while**__ a __**new**__**h**__ead __**o**__f Ho__**g**__w__**art**__s i__**s **__so__**ugh**__t __**a**__ft__**er;**__**she **__has tol__**d**__ me __**t**__hat __**y**__ou __**are**__**of**__f __**to a**__**fine**__ start._

_**Don't**__**ge**__t up to t__**o**__o m__**uch**__ m__**is**__chi__**ef**__- I __**will**__ be __**k**__ee__**pi**__ng__** a**__n e__**y**__e o__**n**__ you, m__**y**__**bo**__y._

_Lov__**e Dad**_

James wondered about his father's last statement; "…_I will be keeping an eye on you…_" It seemed odd, but James was used to his father's strange mannerisms and doings, so it wouldn't surprise him if there was some sort of magical eye following him around… He returned to the parcel and found a collapsible cauldron which he needed for potions that day.

Bill had received The Daily Prophet and was reading it fervently, flipping the pages swiftly as if he was looking for something; Ben received a parcel which contained a book, the title read: _"Herbology- a Guide A-Z of Magical Plants"_.

Ben saw James looking at the book, "it's a present from our father- he's the Herbology teacher here, Professor Longbottom," he said, beaming up at the high table.

Professor Longbottom was a tall, slightly plump man with bright green eyes and dark brown hair. He had a nervous look on his face most of the time as he looked constantly around the Great Hall. His stare met James's for a second, and a lingering look of recognition passed through his eyes. James was puzzled- _he doesn't even know me_, he thought.

The bell rang out to signal the end of breakfast, and James hurried to collect all of his things together, then ran to catch up to Bill and Ben who were already walking towards the staircase.

Neville Longbottom watched quietly as the son of his great friend, Harry Potter disappeared from his view with his twin sons. It seemed strange that James had been drawn to Bill and Ben, unbeknownst to them that his father had been friends with their father… James didn't know most of the mysterious happenings which had surrounded his father all his life, but Neville strongly suspected that Harry was going to tell James, but in his own way.

Minerva McGonagall had already let him know about seeing the boys in the West Wing, and he wondered as she had about the Room of Requirement; could it be that they had re-discovered it? _No_, he thought, _it was destroyed during the Great battle- there was nothing left._ But still that niggling feeling was there- how did they escape Filch? There was no where to hide. He shrugged it off, they are smart boys; they would have figured something out. He finished off his tea, and then Professor Longbottom started his long walk back to the Herbology greenhouses.

"Professor Fallbury! I don't think I did this right… It seems a little, well, acidic…" The young Hufflepuff girl was obviously upset as the potion-gone-wrong suddenly spilled over the sides of her cauldron, burning through potion books and half of the bench-top.

"REGINA!" shouted her partner, a tall Slytherin girl with a fiery look in her dark eyes, "I told you not to add the beetle juice until AFTER I put the snakeskin in!"

"Now, now then," Professor Fallbury cut in, "What's going on here… Oh!"

Professor Fallbury, a kindly-looking professor with wispy grey hair, looked upon the chaotic scene in front of him; a crowd of first-years surrounded a ruined bench sporting some awful-smelling, thick and bubbling, green liquid.

"Regina put the beetle eyes in before I was able to add the snakeskin, so the potion turned into a slop of green acid instead of that cut-curing potion, Professor," the Slytherin girl said haughtily.

"Well, I will have to get you both to clean this up then," said Professor Fallbury resignedly.

"But sir…"

"You are both to blame- you should have been paying attention too," the Professor cut the Slytherin girl off sharply, "…and you are not to use magic- give me your wands."

The girls handed over their wands glumly, and Professor Fallbury sent the rest of the class back to their benches. Suddenly, there was a hair-raising scream, and everyone turned to see the girl called Regina frantically trying to wipe off some of the green acid from her arm.

"YOU!" shouted Fallbury, pointing at James, "Take her to the hospital wing… QUICKLY!"

James leapt forward and steered the sobbing girl from the room, hearing briefly the start of a tirade of harsh language being directed at the Slytherin girl, before the heavy doors to the dungeons slammed loudly behind him.


End file.
